How to Write 娌 (lǐ) — Meaning “sister-in-law”

Imagine a woman (女) living inside (里) the same house as her brother's wife — that woman is your sister-in-law. The picture of a woman "inside" a family helps you recall both the sound lǐ and the meaning.

Start by writing the left radical 女 with three strokes: left slant, right slant, then the horizontal line. Then write the right side 里: first the top 日 (sun) and then the bottom 土 (earth). Keep the 女 part narrow and the 里 part balanced; a common mistake is making 女 too tall or forgetting the bottom horizontal in 里.

娌 (lǐ) means sister-in-law (wife of one's brother), while 妮 (nī) means young girl and is often used in names. 妯 (zhóu) is the first character in 妯娌 and only appears in that compound; it has no standalone meaning. Visually, 娌 uses 里 on the right, 妮 uses 尼, and 妯 uses 由, so the right parts are different.

娌 is almost always used in the compound 妯娌 (zhóu lǐ), which means the wives of two or more brothers. In modern Chinese, this term is used to describe the relationship between those women in a family. It is not a common daily word, but it appears in family discussions and traditional stories.

Common words containing 娌 include: 妯娌 (zhóu lǐ) — sisters-in-law (wives of brothers); 娌娌 (lǐ lǐ) — sisters-in-law; 大娌 (dà lǐ) — Eldest sister-in-law.